In September 2002 the AFL-CIO, Vermont State Labor
Council convention, adopted a resolution endorsing instant runoff
voting for all statewide elections. The resolution was brought to
the state convention by the Champlain Valley and Washington &
Orange Counties Central Labor Councils, AFL-CIO, which had each
adopted the same resolution previously. The AFL-CIO joined a range
of groups in calling for adopting this important election reform,
including the Vermont chapters of the League of Women Voters, Common
Cause, the State Grange, the Older Women's League, the Vermont
Public Interest Research Group, and the National Association of
University Women, as well as many elected leaders including Governor
Howard Dean, Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz, U.S. Congressman
Bernie Sanders and others. The text of the resolution adopted on a
nearly unanimous vote at the convention follows.

Whereas, plurality election rules in races with more
than two candidates can result in a candidate opposed by a majority
of the voters being declared the winner, and

Whereas, in 35 percent of all election years in
Vermont, one or more federal or statewide races had a result less
than a majority, and

Whereas, in 23 percent of all election years, the
general assembly had to intercede to elect one or more statewide
officers, due to the lack of a popular majority, and

Whereas, 21 times in Vermont's history the governor
was elected by the general assembly rather than the voters, due to a
failure to achieve the constitutionally required majority of popular
votes, and

Whereas, the general assembly has often elected a
statewide candidate who did not receive the greatest number of
votes, and

Whereas, in one election year with no majority winner
in the governor's race, the general assembly deadlocked and elected
no governor, forcing the lieutenant-governor to serve, and in
another election year with no majority in the treasurer's race the
general assembly elected the third-place candidate who had received
only three percent of the popular vote and who therefore refused to
serve, leaving Vermont with no treasurer, and

Whereas, recent presidential elections in Vermont with
more than two candidates indicate that the existing plurality
election rules cannot be certain to faithfully reflect majority
voter sentiment, and

Whereas, existing plurality election rules allow for a
"spoiler" situation, in which some voters worry about voting for
their favorite candidate, for fear that will inadvertently help
elect the candidate they like the least, and

Whereas, Instant Runoff Voting, which solves these
problems was recently adopted in San Francisco with the support of
the San Francisco Labor Council and is used in democracies around
the world, including Australia and Ireland, and

Whereas, Instant Runoff Voting has been endorsed by
numerous Vermont leaders, including Governor Howard Dean,
Congressman Bernie Sanders, and Secretary of State Deborah
Markowitz, and

Whereas, Instant Runoff Voting has also been endorsed
by the Vermont League of Women Voters, Vermont Common Cause, the
American Association of University Women, VPIRG, the state Grange,
and 53 of the 56 town meetings that voted on an advisory referendum
for instant runoff voting this year, and

Whereas, Instant Runoff Voting will keep the election
of state officials in the hands of the voters through a majority
vote, rather than in the hands of the general assembly,

Now therefore be it Resolved that the Vermont State
Labor Council AFL-CIO endorses the concept of Instant Runoff Voting
for statewide Vermont
elections.